Chapter 476: A Heavy Burden and a Long Road

Liu Minyou looked at the people before him with a face full of displeasure. The headmaster of Wendeng Grand Academy stood in the center of the hall with his head lowered. Chen Tingdong sat in a chair, blood streaming from his nose and mouth, his blue scholar's robe torn at the waistband and ripped in several places, one shoe missing from his foot, glaring furiously at a person on the floor. Sitting on the floor was the tattered-clothed Ji Ziyue, his face also bruised and swollen, still clutching a shoe in his hands.

Liu Minyou asked coldly, "All of you, tell me — what deep-seated hatred is this?"

Chen Tingdong sprang to his feet with a shout and roared at Ji Ziyue on the floor, "Give me back my shoe!"

Ji Ziyue clutched the shoe tightly, wagging his head with smug satisfaction. "Someone here fancies himself a Xie An. If I hadn't pulled off one of your shoes, I fear that someone would have kept on being self-righteous. This shoe, I absolutely will not return."

Chen Tingdong panted heavily a few times, then seized Ji Ziyue by the collar. "Give it back!"

The two of them talked past each other, paying no attention to Liu Minyou at all. The headmaster could not hold back any longer and hurried forward to pull Chen Tingdong away, saying to him as he did, "Lord Liu is right here — what are you doing?"

"What Lord Liu? Lord Chen himself said that within the academy there are no lords."

Liu Minyou nodded. "That's right — there is no Lord Liu here. But the words 'Independent Character, Free Thought' above the school gate were also written in Lord Chen's own hand. What does 'Free Thought' mean? Why haven't you taken that to heart?"

Chen Tingdong glared at Liu Minyou. "Then by Mr. Liu's reasoning, the White Lotus Sect and the Wenxiang Sect may also come proselytize in the academy, and let the students freely think about them for a while?"

Liu Minyou pointed at Ji Ziyue on the floor. "You compare Instructor Ji to the White Lotus Sect, as if only Neo-Confucianism is the ultimate truth. So your idea of free thought is to rain your fists upon a colleague who holds a different view? Then where is the freedom of Instructor Ji here on the floor?"

Chen Tingdong rushed to the table. "Liu Minyou, you bring in these Taizhou School people, and you open Legalist elective courses in the academy — have you ever considered these students' futures? The students of Dengzhou and Laizhou do not study the learning of the sages, do not revere the Way of Confucius and Mencius — how are they any different from the Jianzhou Bandits? You even publish articles yourself, advocating Wang Tingxiang's doctrine of the strong devouring the weak, taking beasts as a model for human conduct. If this can be endured, what cannot?"

Liu Minyou slammed the table with a bang and stood up. "Then do you also intend to beat me? This Grand Academy is not a place for you to bully the weak by force. There is no Lord Liu here — only one Liu Minyou. If you want to fight, then let us fight it out right here in this room. I have already killed two men with my own hands. Today I am not afraid of you — let us see just how formidable you are."

The other people in the room all turned their heads at once, their mouths hanging open. They had all met Liu Minyou many times; ordinarily he spoke with the utmost gentleness. They had never seen him like this.

Chen Tingdong, already in the heat of rage, rolled up his sleeves and charged forward. Liu Minyou lifted a chair, ready to meet him. The headmaster shouted, and the professors all surged forward together, holding Chen Tingdong firmly in place.

Chen Tingdong bellowed curses. The instructors all pitched in and dragged him out. Liu Minyou stood panting heavily with anger.

Ji Ziyue on the floor wagged his head as he got up and walked toward the door. As he walked, he said, "He Xinyin took one look at Zhang Jiangling and declared that this man would one day hold the reins of power under Heaven, yet he refused to see him — and later was arrested and executed by Zhang Jiangling in Huguang. Chen Tingdong is in trouble now."

After the door closed, Liu Minyou pointed at it and asked, "What did Ji Ziyue mean by that?"

The headmaster said with some embarrassment, "The He Xinyin he spoke of is He Xinyin of the Taizhou School, and Zhang Jiangling is Zhang Juzheng. It is said that when Zhang Juzheng was a Hanlin scholar, he once called upon He Xinyin in the capital. He Xinyin avoided him and refused to meet. When a friend asked why, He Xinyin said that from a distance he had observed Zhang Juzheng and determined that this man could manipulate the reins of power under Heaven, and so he was somewhat afraid of him, and therefore would not see him. Perhaps he offended Zhang Jiangling because of this, and in the end it was indeed Zhang Juzheng who ordered his arrest, and he was beheaded in Wuchang. But this is only a tale passed down among the people — it cannot be taken as fact. What Ji Ziyue meant was… well, he is merely an eccentric scholar, and meant no malice."

Liu Minyou dropped back into his chair and sat in silence for a long moment. The headmaster stood before Liu Minyou, stammering, "My lord, I never imagined that Chen Tingdong would be so overbearing as to dare even strike at you, my lord. The faculty and students have many complaints against him. Shall we expel him from the Grand Academy?"

Liu Minyou closed his eyes, let out a breath, and said, "I was also too agitated just now. Do not drive him away. This is not the Civil Affairs Department — the university is a place where people are allowed to speak. My disagreement with him is a personal dispute; it concerns his qualifications as an instructor. But striking someone is improper. However free the spirit may be, it does not mean striking people at will. The academy regulations must still impose some punishment. Let past offenses go unpunished, but if it happens again, deal with it strictly according to the regulations… not 'strictly' — carry it out as the academy regulations stipulate."

The headmaster assented meekly. Only after a good while did he say, "In truth, the number of students in the academy who adhere to Confucianism has already dwindled greatly."

"Then what other schools of thought are there in the academy now?"

"All the Hundred Schools have people studying them, and there are also those who believe in the Society of Jesus. As for some of the other instructors — well, mainly those hired by Lord Chen — some were formerly from the Training Directorate. What they propagate in the academy is loyalty to Lord Chen and the like, or the principle that the military takes precedence in all things. Wang Tingxiang's doctrine of the strong devouring the weak also has its adherents among them. I just heard that they have gathered a group of students and are going to seek trouble with the Confucian students."

Liu Minyou propped his head on his hand and thought for a moment. "Let them go. The military academy fights every day, but they don't brawl like this. The Confucian students could also use a lesson — don't let them bring those vile habits of the Jiangnan scholars here. Confucianism's exclusivity is incompatible with free thought, but we pursue a hundred flowers blooming. I do not wish to exclude Confucianism either. Let them settle it among themselves. But take some neutral instructors to keep an eye on things — don't let anyone get killed. Make sure the academy's military training firearms are well guarded. If it really can't be helped, store them temporarily in the armory of the outer garrison fort."

The headmaster stole a glance at Liu Minyou's expression and could not help but urge, "My lord, I still feel we should focus on mediation. It is not advisable to keep letting them fight."

Liu Minyou calmed himself for a moment before saying, "Then stop them. This is, after all, the Grand Academy, not the military academy."

"I understand. As for the matter of the schools of thought within the academy, what does my lord think I should do?"

Liu Minyou glanced at him. The headmaster's forehead was covered in sweat, and a piece of his clothing had been torn and hung loose — he did not even know who had done it. Liu Minyou had not originally intended to voice his own thoughts, lest the headmaster draw too rigid a circle around them. But after today's incident, he still felt he should provide some guidance, and also give the headmaster a sense of the boundaries.

Liu Minyou thought for a moment and said, "In truth, I am not targeting Confucianism itself. Its theories of principle and material force form a self-contained system and have their merits. The School of Mind contains the essence of free thought, but it lacks scientific method and likewise needs continued improvement. Yet its ideas that 'the daily lives of the common people are the Way' and 'the sage and the passerby are one' are also highly valuable — these are the foundation of egalitarian thought. For those students who study tool-making, I have already introduced some scientific methods to them. You can guide them to establish their own doctrines. These ideas can blend with one another. For example, Confucianism has the phrase 'investigating things to extend knowledge.' This phrase has a thousand interpretations, but I believe Confucianism, the School of Mind, and tool-making can all extend from this phrase and arrive at a widely accepted doctrine."

The headmaster nodded. "I understand a little better now."

Liu Minyou sighed and said, "In fact, the crux of the matter today does not lie in the content of any one doctrine, but in the spirit of inclusiveness and broad-mindedness. Take the Society of Jesus you just mentioned. In Europa, at its inception, it spread in secret among the common people, bearing a progressive posture. Later it intertwined with European feudalism, and in the form of the Church became the master of Europa. From then on, all other religions were regarded as heretical evil ways, and the people's thought was shackled — how similar to today's Neo-Confucianism. What I am angry about is not Chen Tingdong the man, but the way Confucianism sets itself up as the standard, erects its own thresholds, and then is used by the art of imperial rule, manifesting an exclusivity — whoever is not of our Neo-Confucianism must be a heretical fallacy. Where then does free thought come from? Now the Red Barbarians have drawn nourishment from the ancient texts of Greece and Rome. The Renaissance is already complete, and the Reformation follows — the decline of ecclesiastical power is at hand, and the cage of thought is being opened. You have seen the tools and devices made by the Red Barbarians in Macau. Though they are the art of tool-making, they originate from the Way of free thought. Remember this one point: although Wendeng Grand Academy has departments of tool-making such as navigation, mechanics, and distilling, what they study — obtaining the tool is only the branch; the scientific method is the root. But the scientific method is also not the spirit of Wendeng Grand Academy. The spirit is higher than the method. At all times, free thought is the spiritual root of Wendeng Grand Academy. What Chen Tingdong is doing is truly, truly going too far. Still, I will not ask you to expel him. Let them speak. But their freedom must not impinge upon the free thought of others. If they want to debate, they should do so in a manner befitting debate."

The headmaster said with some admiration, "Lord Liu's magnanimity is beyond that of ordinary men. I also understand the meaning of what you have said, my lord. In the future, the academy regulations will also produce some rules accordingly."

Liu Minyou let out a long breath and said, "In the future, start a newspaper. Those who want to quarrel can quarrel in the newspaper, and distribute it to the outside like the military gazette."

The headmaster hesitated. "Then… what about some of the more radical arguments, or those that insult important ministers — how should those be handled?"

"Those cannot be published. It must be limited to academic matters. Let the common people outside see it. The common people are not fools — consider it enlightening the common people, letting them also do some thinking."

"Then when would be a good time to start this newspaper?"

"Wait for now. Recently, people from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have come to Wendeng to listen and take notes. Just be aware of it. Have the students and instructors go out less. Do not let in anyone without an identification badge, to avoid stirring up more trouble. If there are few submissions to the newspaper, it can be issued once a month. Later, when submissions increase, add more issues. The content can be of all kinds, not limited to doctrinal disputes. You can also solicit articles from outside — some matters concerning tool-making, or recruiting from among the common people, and the like."

"Understood."

"This dispute over doctrines is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Your authority as headmaster is limited. The primary task is still to do a good job of providing services, and to give the instructors and students good conditions. With the way things have flared up this time, if there are Confucian instructors and students who wish to leave the academy… do your utmost to retain them. For those who absolutely must leave, wait until the people from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have gone."

The two spoke for half a shichen before Liu Minyou went out the door. The two of them prepared to go to the dining hall together for a meal. When they reached the main entrance of the dining hall, many students were coming and going. Several janitorial workers who were sweeping the floor saw the headmaster approach and all bowed in salute. The headmaster was preoccupied with speaking to Liu Minyou, but Liu Minyou stopped and bowed in return to those janitorial workers.

The headmaster froze for a moment, then suddenly recalled the egalitarian thought within the School of Mind that Liu Minyou had spoken of, and hurriedly returned a salute to the janitorial workers as well.

Liu Minyou said to himself in a low voice, "The burden is heavy and the road is long — take it slowly."